KUCHING: A 13m-long whale skeleton is set to go on display following its acquisition by the Sarawak Museum Department.
State Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) was initially found dead and drifting near Pulau Seduku in the Sri Aman division in November.
He said it was the third whale specimen in the department's collection and the largest to date.
"We will find a place for it, either in the Borneo Cultures Museum or the Natural History Museum.
"It will be an interesting exhibit," he told reporters after chairing a Sarawak Heritage Council meeting here on Wednesday (June 18).
The whale carcass was first reported by area residents on social media on Nov 19.
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Four days later, a team from Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) discovered the heavily decomposed carcass trapped around the construction site of a bridge near the Triso Ferry.
The Museum Department subsequently obtained the skeleton through collaboration with the Sri Aman Resident Office, Lingga and Sebuyau district offices, SFC, Fire and Rescue Department, police and the local community.
Now part of the museum's zoology collection, the specimen holds significant value for research and exhibition.
Karim also said a set of traditional goldsmithing tools nearly a century old was recently donated to the department by Teo Keng Boon, the grandson of well-known goldsmith Teo Chai Seng.
He said the set comprised machinery, hand tools, a work station, gas canister, vault and the original shop signboard.
The equipment was used to shape gold bars into plates and wires to be fashioned into jewellery.
"Entirely operated by hand, the tools are estimated to be over 90 years old.
"The goldsmith's shop was located at China Street here and ceased operations in 2005," Karim said.
In addition, he said two copper pots estimated to be over 70 years old were donated to the department by Surau Darul Falah at Kampung Tupong here.
He said the pots were used by the villagers to cook rice, porridge and other dishes during communal events.
